

Workday Playdate
Erin Diehl | Business Improv Edutainer, Failfluencer, Keynote Speaker
TOP 1% GLOBAL PODCAST for People-First Leaders
Formerly the "improve it! Podcast"
I’m Erin Diehl, keynote speaker, business improv edutainer, and founder of improve it! (AKA your work bestie). Every Wednesday, Workday Playdate with improve it! helps HR professionals, people leaders, and culture-driven humans bring more laughter, levity, and purpose to their workdays. Because work is better when you play.
This is not your average leadership podcast. You’ll get research-backed strategies, improv-inspired tools, and candid conversations with top leaders, speakers, improvisers and authors who are rethinking how we work and lead.
Our promise is to give you tangible takeaways you can use immediately, plus a few laughs along the way.
Interested in partnering with us? Workday Playdate reaches thousands of people-first leaders who care about workplace culture, leadership, and team development.
Contact info@learntoimproveit.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. We promise laughs, impact, and zero awkward small talk. Think ROI with a side of LOL’s. Let’s make it happen!
Formerly the "improve it! Podcast"
I’m Erin Diehl, keynote speaker, business improv edutainer, and founder of improve it! (AKA your work bestie). Every Wednesday, Workday Playdate with improve it! helps HR professionals, people leaders, and culture-driven humans bring more laughter, levity, and purpose to their workdays. Because work is better when you play.
This is not your average leadership podcast. You’ll get research-backed strategies, improv-inspired tools, and candid conversations with top leaders, speakers, improvisers and authors who are rethinking how we work and lead.
Our promise is to give you tangible takeaways you can use immediately, plus a few laughs along the way.
Interested in partnering with us? Workday Playdate reaches thousands of people-first leaders who care about workplace culture, leadership, and team development.
Contact info@learntoimproveit.com to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. We promise laughs, impact, and zero awkward small talk. Think ROI with a side of LOL’s. Let’s make it happen!
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 5, 2022 • 32min
127: Can You Lead Your Team to Communicate More Effectively? 8 Must Know Tips!
Ever heard of “𝗕𝗬𝗢𝗘,” improve it! peeps? We’ll let you in on a little secret: it stands for “𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆.” ⚡️ Today’s 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁! 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 will make sure you never show up to a party (AKA to your team) empty-handed. 🥳 💝 Grab your notebook and pen and tune in to today’s episode for eight tips on how to lead your team to communicate more effectively! Show Links: Want to book Erin to speak at your organization or large scale event: Learn more here! Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Sep 28, 2022 • 36min
126: Want to Gain Confidence, Get Comfortable with the Uncomfortable at Work? Try Chicken Dancing!
Hey hey, improve it! peeps! From workshop participant to Chicken Dance Champion, meet Cameron Roffey! He is a living example of the power and magic of 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃. 📖 O𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚, Cameron was participating in an improve it! workshop when he and a colleague decided to get up and 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 bust a move. ⏩ Fast forward to Cameron posting a reflection about how empowering it was to get up and Chicken Dance, Erin being moved by his post, and inviting him on the improve it! pod. When you use improv as a stepping stone to step out of your comfort zone, 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 arise 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱’𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱. 🤯 Show Links: Want to book Erin to speak at your organization or large scale event: Learn more here! Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! About Cameron Roffey: Cameron is a high school graduate in pursuit of his B.S. in Marketing from Azusa Pacific University. He has experience in telemarketing, retail, restaurant, and non-profit work. He is a value and ethics driven leader who holds a strong interest in corporate partnerships. Cameron has had the opportunity to work in different work spaces, providing the constant opportunity for growth. He is a self-motivated, relational worker that desires for a productive and enjoyable workspace. Connect with Cameron Roffey: www.linkedin.com/in/cameron-roffey Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Sep 26, 2022 • 19min
Minisode 18: Resistant to Rest? 5 Reasons Unplugging from Technology Makes You a Better Leader
You hear it all the time, improve it! peeps - unplug, unplug, unplug. Oh, did we mention you should 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗹𝘂𝗴? 🚫🔌 We’ll let you in on a 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁: the repetition is worth it because unplugging is beyond necessary. The question is…how do we know when the time is right to take a break? 🤔 Today’s 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁! 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 will give you signs to look out for when it’s time to take some space from tech 𝙥𝙡𝙪𝙨 5 concrete reasons to #DisconnectToReconnect. Grab your pens and notebooks to jot these down and reread when it’s time for your very own technology hiatus. Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps!
Sep 21, 2022 • 36min
125: FAIL YEAH! How to Create a Company Culture that Embraces Failure
Are you a type A, recovering perfectionist trying to make it in the world that sees failure as a loss? If so, today’s episode is full of tangible tips to help you embrace the suck, and fail forward like the #failfluencer you were meant to be. We’ve even got our very own M.O.V.E.O.N. method to help the next time failure strikes. Grab your pen and paper because this is a good one. Show Links: Want to book Erin to speak at your organization or large scale event: Learn more here! Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Sep 14, 2022 • 45min
124: Five Tips to Making Life Easier as a Working Parent with Raena Boston of Working Momtras
Are you a working parent or do you lead team members who are working parents? If so, today’s guest is full of tangible tips to make your day-to-day run as smoothly as possible. By day, Raena Boston is a working mother to 3 children, Chamber of Mothers co-founder, and human resources professional for a consulting firm. By night (and wherever there is margin), she is a writer and the founder of an online community for mothers called the Working Momtras. The Working Momtras is a community designed to help empower moms to resign from doing it all and instead lean into their inherent worth. Utilizing the power of momtras (mantras), stories and connection, The Working Momtras exists to guide moms toward becoming more of who they already are. Press play and you’ll hear: The biggest challenges working parents face Key habits working parents can implement to make their lives easier Five tips for working parents to make each day run smoother One thing working parents should STOP doing, and one thing working parents should START doing Show Links: Want to book Erin to speak at your organization or large scale event: Learn more here! Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Raena Boston: Linkedin Instagram (Working Momtras) Instagram (Chamber of Mothers) Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Sep 7, 2022 • 26min
123: How to Use Improv to Magnetize a Culture Where All Feel Seen, Heard, and Valued
There you are: a leader who hears everyone in the room’s voices, who sees the detail that goes into their work, and who makes them not only feel, but know they’re important as human beings. They want to come to work. Productivity rises. The organization and the people within it thrive. Sound like a pipe dream? This could be your reality. Press play and you’ll hear: How to discover your own culture-building power within and how to harness it on a daily basis How you can use improv to be a more empathetic leader How YOUR energy magnetizes your culture, and tools to measure your own energy levels A VERY exciting update and how you can bring this into your organization Show Links: Want to book Erin to speak at your organization or large scale event: Learn more here! Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)

Aug 31, 2022 • 49min
122: First Time Manager? How to Go from Peer to Manager in 5 Easy Steps with Ramona Shaw
Are you transitioning from an individual contributor role to a leadership position? If yes, you’re in for a treat. If no, you're in for truth nuggets aplenty to add to your toolkit. In this episode, Erin brings on leadership coach, Ramona Shaw, to give you five EASY steps to go from peer to manager in no time! In this episode, you will hear: The biggest mistake first-time managers make Key leadership habits to become a confident leader Five tangible steps to make a seamless transition from individual contributor to leader Show Links: Want to get your team Hybrid Hyped? Check out this free download Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! About Ramona Shaw: Studies have found that 40-60% of high-performing employees fail or underperform when appointed as managers within their first two years on the job. Since the vast majority of new managers never receive the leadership training essential for success in their role, high rates of failure result. Such situations are costly for both the managers who fear demotions or losing out on salary increases and promotions, as well as the organizations that lose talent and productivity. In response to this issue, Ramona Shaw runs The Leadership Accelerator, a 12-week program that coaches first-time managers to become confident, competent leaders who deliver results and who people love to work with. Through the program, she has helped hundreds of new managers at startups and leading companies — including Google, Twitch, Asana, Lionsgate, and Dropbox — successfully transition into leadership roles. Before becoming a leadership coach, Ramona worked at Partners Group, a global private markets firm with $127B in assets under management and over 1,500 professionals across 20 offices worldwide. At the firm, Ramona moved from a Junior Financial Analyst to Vice President in under six years. Connect with Ramona Shaw: Instagram LinkedIn Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Aug 24, 2022 • 30min
121: Let Go of Your Leadership Limiting Beliefs – How Improv Improves Your Confidence
In this episode, Erin dives into tactical improv strategies that teach you how to improve your confidence and push those limiting beliefs to the side! The four tips she provides will instill confidence and equip you for the next time that fear and anxiety strike. In this episode, you will hear: Examples of Erin’s own limiting beliefs and the tools she uses to overcome them Mindset shifts to help you kick out limiting beliefs and breathe in confidence How improv improves your leadership and overall self esteem Show Links: Want to get your team Hybrid Hyped? Check out this free download Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)

Aug 17, 2022 • 46min
120: Up-Level Your Professional and Presentational Presence with My Coach Jane Atkinson
There you are standing in front of a room of strangers, about to present a PowerPoint deck and your mind goes blank. Gulp. Feet glued to the floor. Armpits sweating. Heart racing. Wishing the words would come to you. Wishing you had not stayed up all night anxious about today’s event. Wishing you had the tools to make yourself feel confident when presenting to groups. Sound familiar? Then get those ear buds ready for today’s show with special guest (and my speaking coach) Jane Atkinson! Jane Atkinson has been helping speakers catapult their careers for more than 30 years. She is the author of The Wealthy Speaker 3.0 (out this Fall), The Epic Keynote, The Wealthy Speaker Daily Success Planner and Journal, and Scaling Your Speaking Business. Prior to coaching, Jane worked as an agent for several speakers whose careers skyrocketed. She also served as Vice President of a Speakers Bureau in Dallas where she represented several celebrities, best-selling authors, and business experts. Jane founded The Wealthy Speaker School, which helps speakers build the businesses of their dreams through their courses, community, masterminds, and coaching. In this episode, you will hear: The benefits of having a positive mindset when it comes to public speaking The challenges associated with professional and presentational presence Three tangible tips to getting more comfortable with the uncomfortable Show Links: Want to get your team Hybrid Hyped? Check out this free download Episode 18: How to Rattle the Cage of Mediocrity with your Courage & Fear Failure Less with Judi Holler Episode 40: Team Wait vs. Team Create: How to Show Up in 2021 with Erin King The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Jane Atkinson: The Wealthy Speaker Podcast Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)
Aug 10, 2022 • 38min
119: Three Tips To Manage Neurodiverse Team Members with Joy Young
Do you lead a neurodivergent team? Perhaps you want a more in-depth analysis of the benefits of managing neurodiverse team members? If so, this episode is for you. Our guest, Joy Young, has 15 years of HR experience and has spent the last five years building HR departments in high growth organizations. In this episode, you will hear: The benefits of hiring a neurodivergent team The challenges associated with leading a neurodivergent workforce Three tangible tips to leading neurodivergent team members Press play, and make sure to share this episode with anyone who may benefit from this important and insightful conversation. Show Links: Want to get your team Hybrid Hyped? Check out this free download Send us a voice message here! Did today’s episode resonate with you? Please leave us a review! Connect with Joy Young: LinkedIn Instagram Connect with Erin Diehl: Instagram LinkedIn improve it! TikTok Improve it! Instagram Improve it! Facebook improve it! website Book a Laugh Break Book a Workshop Email Erin: info@learntoimproveit.com “I love this podcast and I love Erin!!” If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing this podcast! This helps Erin support more people – just like you – move toward the leader you want to be. Click here, click listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with 5 stars, and select “Write a Review.” Then be sure to let Erin know what you loved most about the episode! Also, if you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast. That way you won’t miss any juicy episodes! Thanks in advance, improve it! Peeps :)